Furniture.



.E. OHNSTRAND. FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4. 1912.

IL W 'H I Patented. Nov. 27, 1917..

4 SHEETS-SHEET h E. OHNSTRAND.

FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED N0V14. 1912.

1 Q7 1 g Patented. Nova 27, 1917?,

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E. OHNSTRAND.

FURNITURE.

APPLICATION, FILED NOV. 4, I912.

Patented Nov 27, MY.

4 SHEETS-SHEET'3.

awuewtoz E. OHNSTRAND.

FURNITURE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 4. 1912.

1&4? ,?1 Q g Patented Nov. 27, 1917.

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Witness O da warren entries FATE @FFTGE.

ENOCH OI-INSTRAND, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO U- S. STEEL FURNITURE COMPANY, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, A CORPURA'IION OF NEW YORK.

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Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented Nov. 2?, il iltf.

Application filed November 4, 1912. Serial No. 729,423.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ENOCH OHNSTRAND, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Furniture, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates to furniture and an object of the same is to provide a construction in which the parts may be inexpensively formed from sheet metal and assembled in an expeditious manner. Another object of the invention is to improve the construction of the drawer suspension and guides.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain parts and combinations of parts all of which will be hereinafter described, the novel features being pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of a flat top desk embodying the present improvements;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the line aa, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line b-b, Fig. 1;

Fig. 1 1s a perspective view of one of the rails which connects the two drawer sections;

Fig. 5 is a detail. view of the piece which serves as a uide and casing for the slide at the top o f each drawer section;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the bl1sters'or tongues which is employed for connecting several parts of the furniture;

Figs. 7 and 8 are perspective views of two of the legs, that shown in Fig. 7 being employed at the front of the desk and that shown in Fig. 8 being employed at the rear of the desk;

Fig. 9 is an enlarged vertical section through the lower part of one of the legs showing the manner in which the section panels are connected thereto and the manner in which the foot pieces are secured;

Fig. 10 is a section on the line 0-0, Fig 9;

Fig. 11 is an enlarged horizontal section of one of the front legs on a line d-d, Fig. 3;

Fig. 12 is an enlarged perspective view showing the manner in which the drawer guide and drawer strike bar are connected to one of the front legs;

Fig. is an enlarged section on the line e e, Fig. 8, showing the drawers in pos1t1on;

Fig. 14: is a detail sectional view showing the manner in which the drawer strike bar and drawer guide are connected to one of the front legs; and

Fig. 15 is a detail view of the forward end of one of the drawer guides. The present invention is shown embodied in a sheet metal desk but it will be apparent that there are features of construction thereof which are also applicable for use in any kind of sheet metal furniture. The present desk is of the flat top and sanitary leg construction with two drawer sections spaced apart and connected by front and rear cross rails 1 and Q'and the top 3 but this construction is merely illustrative. In this embodiment, the two drawer sections are substantially identical so that a description of one will answer for the other. Each embodies four legs 4, 5, 6 and 7.

The rear legs 1 and 5 are identical in construction except that the inner leg is provided with slots 2? near its upper end to permit the rear cross rail 2 to be connected thereto, as will be hereinafter set forth, the leg 4 being illustrated in perspective in Fig. 8. It Wlll be seen by referring to this figure, that this leg is of hollow construction being formed from a single piece of sheet material closed at, its lower end, as at 9, to form an open-ended tube and having, above said closed portion, inwardly turned flanges 10 preferably arranged at right angles to each other within the leg in order to provide means for securing the desk panels as will be hereinafter described. The front legs are the same except that one is right and the other left, the inner leg be- I ing provided with slots 11 near its upper end to permit the front rail .1 to be connected thereto in a manner to be described.

The front legs are both provided with closed portions 9, and, instead of having two flanges 1O turned inwardly above the closed portion, they each have but one of such flanged portions as each connects only with one side panel. The other edge of the sheet metal lies in a plane with-the adjacent face of the tubular portion 9 and is parallel with the flanged portion 10 of the same leg for a purpose which will be hereinafter set forth.

these parts together.

The four legs of each drawer section may be connected by upright panels 11, 12 and 13, a bottom 14 and strike bars 15, 16, 17 and 18. Each of the panels 11, 12 and 13 has its lower edge turned inwardly at 19 to serve as a rest for the bottom 14 which also extends into the lowermost hollow strike bar 15 as shown in Fig. 3 to be supported by the latter, being bolted or otherwise secured to the parts on which it rests. The upper edges of the panels 11, 12 and 13 are turned outwardly as at 20 so as to be engaged by securing devices on the under side of the top 3, some of said securing devices being in the form of rigid hooks or projections such as shown in Fig. 6, arranged on the under side of the top and engaging with the flanges 20 by a movement of the top in its plane, and other of said securing devices being in the form of pivoted latches 21 arranged either to engage with the flanges 20, on some of the side panels, or with the cross pieces 1 and 2. The vertical edges of the panels 11, 12 and 13 are turned outwardly to provide flanges 22, the free edges of which abut the inner walls of the legs 4, 5, 6 and 7 in the manner shown in Figs. 10 and 11 when the panels are connected to the leg. Owing to the fact that the free edges of the flanges 22 engage the interior walls of the hollow legs and the free edges of the flanges 10 engage the flanges 22 at the base of the latter, great strength is secured as these parts form a sheet metal column.

A desirable method of securing the panels to the legs consists in providing one of these parts, preferably the panels, with tongues struck up from the body of the panels within the edges of the latter. Each of these tongues preferably embodies a shoulder portion 23 at an angle to the plane of the body portion of the panel, and a portion 24 parallel with the plane of the body portion of the panel (see Figs. 6, 9, lOand 11). A strengthening rib 24 is provided for this tongue and extends from the parallel portion 24 through the angular portlon 23 to and onto the body portion, being pressed up from the sheet metal stock. The

.form of this rib is such that it gives great strength to the tongue.

The legs are provided with openings 25 in their flanged portions 10, said openings being of a size to permit the passage of the tongues therethrough, so that, when the plates are lowered with relation to the legs, the tongues will cooperate with the metal of the flange 10 below the openings 25 and hold The free ends of the tongues may be slightly deflected at 26 in order to permit a ready engagement between the parts. This connection is adapted for connecting any two sheet metal parts in which the conditions are similar to those illustrated in the present embodiment. In

addition to the tongues, the connected to the legs by bolts.

The drawer strike bars 15, 16, 17 and 18, before mentioned, are preferably formed from sheet material which may be bent to form .a channeled or grooved construction, as illustrated, opening to the rear, and these channeled bars may be further pressed to form grooves 27 for receiving the flanges on the drawers. At their ends, the upper and lower arms or sides of the channels may be formed with tongues 28 having perforations and extending through slots 29 formed in the opposed faces of the front legs 6 and 7, rods 30 being extended through the'alined openings or perforations of the tongues 28 and within the hollow legs 6 and 7 for the purpose of holding drawer strike bars to the front legs.

As before stated, the two drawer sections are connected by front and rear rails 1 and 2. Each of these rails may be formed from sheet metal bent into U-shape with an upturned flange 31 at its lower edge. The ends of these rails, like the strike bars, may be provided with tongues 32 formed with perforations and fitting through the slots 11 and 2 in the inner front and rear legs, pins 33 serving to hold said rails to said legs by being passed through the perforated tongues 32 within the legs.

The drawer suspension preferably embodies a rectangular frame arranged within the drawer section between the side panels thereof. This frame may embody a bottom piece 34, upright guide-supporting pieces 35 and a top piece 36 all formed of angle iron and secured together in any suitable manner. The bottom piece 34 of this frame may be riveted or otherwise secured to the bottom plate 14 of the drawer section, while a connection may be provided between the top piece 36 of the frame and the uppermost strike bar 18, said connection preferably an bodying a plate 37'secured at 38 to the top piece 36 and having its forward end turned downwardly and rearwardly at 39 to co operate with the front face of the strike bar 18. The rectangular frame serves as supporting means for the rear ends of the drawer guides of the drawer suspension, the forward end of the drawer guides preferably being supported by the front legs and the drawer strike bars as will now be described.

The drawer guides preferably embody ledges 43 arranged in pairs for cooperation with the under sides of the drawers and alsoguiding surfaces ll arranged in pairs for cooperating with the tops of the drawers. These two guiding surfaces 43 and 44 for two proximate drawers are preferablv formed from one piece of sheet material. being connected by a portion 45 depending from the inner edge of the ledge 43 and conpanels may be nected to the inner edge of the guiding surface 44. This connecting portion 45 serves to strengthen the inner edges of the ledge 43 and the guiding surface 44 at the points where the greatest strain is imposed thereon, and these three parts form a portion which is U-shaped in cross section. At the outer end of the upper arm of this U-shaped portion or, in other words, at the outer side of the ledge 43, an upwardly extending flange or portion 46 is provided having, at its free edge, an inwardly turned bead 47. This flange 46 performs the dual function of strengthening the ledge 43 and preventing lateral movement of the drawer on the ledge, the head at the upper edge of the flange serving to space the drawer from the main portion of the flange and provide but 'a'small bearing between these parts, whereby only a slight friction to the movement of the drawer is present. Extending downwardly from the outer edge of the guide 44 is a flange or portion48 having at its lower or free edge an inwardly turned head 49, this bead and flange performing for the upper part of the drawer the same function as the flange 46 and bead 47.

To support the guides, the later are pref-- erably provided at either end with tongues 50- struck up from the metal thereof within the marginal edges of the flanges 46 and 48 on the outer faces of the latter. The flanges 46 and 48 preferably abut flat faces on the front and rear guide supports, the front guide supports being, in this instance, the

front legs and the rear supports being the uprights 35. The faces of the supports, on the sides opposite the sides engaged by the guides, are engaged by the tongues 50 which extend around the free edges of the flat portions (as shown in Figs. 11 and 12). These free edges may be notched as at 51 to receive the tongues 50 and thus prevent vertical movement of the drawer guides.

The forward ends of the guides may also be supported by the drawer strike bars and, to this end, the forward ends of the guides are recessed at 52 so as to straddle the strike bars and permit the forward end of each ledge 43 to rest upon the upper surface of a strike bar, while the forward end of the guiding surface 44 coiiperates with the under surface of the strike bar, thus permitting the ledge 43 and the guiding surface 44 to lie substantially in planes with the upper and lower surfaces of a strike bar, respeotively. An extension 53 may be provided on the forward end of each connecting portion 45 to project into the channel of a strike bar in order to hold the walls of the latter against pressure from the outside.

The drawers 54*, which may be of any suitable construction, are preferably made of sheet material being illustrated in section in Fig. 13. Their upper edges are provided with outwardly-turned beads 54 which travel in engagement with the guiding surfaces 44 and the depending flanges 48 on the guides above the beads 49 of the latter. The plate 37 has flanges 40 bent up from its two opposite sides and its rear end to provide a compartment for a slide, the rear flange 40 serving to limit the inward movement of the slide and a leather cushion 41 on top of the slide cotiperating with the depending flange 42 on the top 3 to limit the outward movement of the slide.

Another feature of this invention is the construction of the lower ends of the legs. The legs, as before mentioned, are open at their lower ends and into these lower ends are fitted foot pieces 55 having surrounding shoulders 56 coiiperating with the extreme ends of the tubular portions 9. Each of these foot pieces may be formed of a hollow casting with a reduced upper portion providing the shoulder 56 and an interior shoulder 56*. A plate 58 with a central opening 57 abuts the interior shoulder 56 and serves as an anchor for a bolt or tie piece 59 which extends through the opening 57, and is anchored at its upper end to the leg, this latter being accomplished by forming a hook 61 and engaging said hook within the notch 62 formed at the upper portion of the tubular portion 9. With this arrangement, the foot piece may be secured to the leg while the latter is detached from the main portion of the desk, thus facilitating the assembling of the parts.

Sheet metal'furnitu re constructed in accordance with this invention is strong and durable in use, may be quickly and easily assembled and embodies a minimum number of parts, rendering the cost of manufacture thereof less expensive. A new drawer suspension is provided wherein separate fastening devices are dispensed with while a rigid and easily assembled structure is obtained.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In furniture, a front strike bar, a pair of drawer guides for cooperating with a single drawer, each formed of sheet metal and bent to provide a ledge resting at its forward end on the strike bar and arranged to cotiperate with the bottom of the drawer, and a portion projecting upwardly from the outside of the ledge and formed with an inwardly turned bead for cooperation with the side wall of the drawer, and a drawer resting at its bottom on the ledges of the two guides and having its side walls cooperating with the inwardly-turned beads of the two guides.

2. Infurniture, a front strike ba'r,'a pair' of drawer guides for coiiperating with a single drawer each formed of sheet metal bent to provide a ledge resting at its for- Ward end on the strike bar and arranged to co6perate with the bottom of the drawer,

a portion depending from that edge of the ledge which is opposed to the other guide to strengthen the inner side of the ledge and a portion projecting upwardly from the outside of the ledge and formed with an inwardly-turned bead adapted to cooperate with the side wall of the drawer, and a drawer resting at its bottom on'the ledges of the two guides and having its two side walls cooperating with the inwardly-turned beads of the two guides.

3. In furniture, the combination with a pair of front supports and a drawer strikebar connecting them, of a pair of drawer guides, each formed from sheet metal and provided with a portion U-shaped in cross section forming a channel which is turned outwardly, one arm of the U-shaped portion acting as a ledge for the drawer operating above the strike bar and the other arm acting as a guide for the drawer operating below the strike bar, the arm acting as a ledge having at its outer side an upwardlyturned portion formed with an inwardlyturned bead for cooperating with the side of the drawer movable on said'ledge, and means for supporting the rear ends of the guides.

4:. In furniture, the combination with a pair of front supports and a drawer strike bar connecting them, of a pair of drawer guides, each formed from sheet metal and provided with a portion U-shaped in cross section forming a channel which is turned outwardly, one arm of the U-shaped portion acting as a ledge for the drawer operating above the strike bar and the other arm acting as a guide for the drawer operating below the strike bar, the latter arm having a downwardly-turned portion at its outer edge formed with an inwardly-turned head for cooperating with the side of the drawer op erating below the strike bar, and means for supporting the rear ends of the guide.

5. In furniture, the combination with a pair of front supports and a drawer strike bar connecting them, of a pair of drawer guides, each formed from sheet metal and provided with a portion U-shaped in cross section forming a channel which is turned outwardly, one arm of the U-shaped portion acting as a ledge for the drawer operating above the strike bar and the other armi acting as a guide for the drawer operating below the strike bar, the arm acting as a ledge having at its outer side an upwardlyturned flange formed with an inwardly turned bead for cooperating with the side of the drawer movable on said ledge and the other arm having a downwardly-turned portion at its outer side formed with an inwardly-turned bead for cooperating with the side of the drawer operating below the panels, a connection between the top of said frame and the uppermost strike bar, and drawer guides having their forward ends supported on the stri e bars and their rear ends connected to the upright frame.

7. In furniture, a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, a rear panel connecting the rear legs, drawer strike bars connecting the front legs, side panels connecting the front and the rear legs, a frame arranged between the side panels, a top secured above the panels, a plate secured to the frame and to the uppermost strike bar in spaced relation to the top to provide a space for a slide and to anchor the frame, and drawer guide bars secured to the frame at one end and to a strike bar at the other end.

8. In furniture, a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, drawer strike bars connecting the front legs, side panelsconnecting the front legs with the rear legs, a rear panel connecting the rear legs,'a frame arranged between the side panels, drawer guides formed from sheet metal with portions U- shaped in cross section, the rear ends of the guides being secured to the frame and the forward ends being recessed and straddling the drawer strike bars so that one arm of the U-shaped portion forms a ledge for cooperation with the bottom of a drawer operating above the strike bar and the other arm forms a guide for the top of a drawer operating below the strike bar.

9. In furniture, the combination with a pair of front legs, a pair of rear legs, a panel connecting the rear legs, panels connecting the front and the rear legs and drawer strike bars connecting the front legs, of an upright rectangular frame arranged between the side panels, and drawer guides formed from sheet metal with portions U- shaped in cross section, the rear ends of said guides being secured to the rectangular frame and the forward ends being recessed and straddling the strike bar so that one arm of the U-shaped portion forms a ledge for cooperation with the bottom of the drawer operating above the strike bar and the other arm of the U-shaped portion forms a guide for the top of thedrawer operating below the strike bar, the upper arm of said U- shaped portion having an upwardly-turned ange with an inwardly-turned bead, and

a lower arm of said U-shaped portion having a downwardly-turned flange with an inwardly-turned bead, said beads cooperating with the sides of the drawers operating above and below the strike bar.

10. The combination in furniture of a tubular support provided with a vertical recess, one side of which is formed by a flat wall on the support, the edge of said wall at the recess being formed with notches, a

- panel interlocking with said support in the other side of the recess, and drawer guides having forwardly-projecting tongues struck up therefrom in rearof their forward ends, the drawer guidescooperating with the'outer face of the support and the tongues being received within the notches and cooperating with the inner face of the support.

11. The combination in furniture, of a pair of sheet metal legs each having a flat face provided with a free edge formed with notches, drawer strike bars connecting said legs, and sheet metal drawer guides, each having a portion U-shaped in cross section, the forward end of said U-shaped portion being recessed to straddle one of the drawer strike bars, the upper arm of said U-shaped portion having an upwardly-turned flange and the lower arm having a downwardlyturned flange, said flanges each havin a tongue struck up from the metal at the orward end thereof, one face of said flange cooperating with the flat portion of one of the legs, the other face ofthe flat portion of said leg being engaged by the tongue which is positioned in one of the notches to hold the guide against lateral movement, and

means for supporting the rear ends of the guide.

ENOCH OHNSTRAND. Witnesses:

EDGAR HAMILTON, GEORGE W. COOPER. 

